Jabaal Sheard Finally Gives New England Patriots Reliable Depth at OLB

For years, the New England Patriots have wished and prayed for depth at defensive end and outside linebacker. 

Unfortunately for Bill Belichick, athletic and strong edge defenders do not sprout out of wishing wells or fall from the sky like shooting stars. As a result, veterans Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich were asked to carry the entire workload as the teeth of the Patriots pass rush.

Enter Jabaal Sheard, a fifth-year defensive end formerly of the Cleveland Browns. Sheard was signed as a free agent this offseason, and his presence has completely changed the complexion of the Patriots defense simply by providing reliable depth at a position that has sorely lacked it.

Player	Total	Run def.	Pass rush	Pass cov.
Rob Ninkovich	171	59	94	18
Chandler Jones	166	59	101	6
Jabaal Sheard	143	44	92	7

According to Pro Football Focus, all three of the Patriots' top edge-defenders—Sheard, Jones and Ninkovich—have played between 70 and 85 percent of the snaps this year. That's a stark contrast to the past two seasons.

Jones played 97.6 percent of the snaps through three games in 2013, and Ninkovich played 96.7 percent. In 2014, Jones played 98.1 percent of the snaps through three games; there was initially a concerted effort to take some of the workload off of Ninkovich (37 of 76 snaps in Week 1) but he quickly resumed his workhorse duties and played 81 percent of the snaps through three games in 2014.

They simply didn't have the depth to pull it off.

With Sheard in the mix, though, the Patriots can turn to an experienced and talented veteran when Jones and Ninkovich need a break.

As the snap chart above would indicate, Sheard's greatest strength is as a pass-rusher, where his combination of burst, length and power make him a tough player to stop. According to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald, offensive linemen are often forced to commit penalties just to slow him down. 

Sure enough, we saw an example of that against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3.

Credit: NFL Game Pass

Sheard lined up at the 5-technique defensive end spot, with his inside shoulder over the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle. The Patriots sent a six-man rush after quarterback Blake Bortles, and Sheard rushed inside toward the guard.

Credit: NFL Game Pass

Faced with a one-on-one matchup, Sheard beat his man soundly (Frame 1), but the guard wanted to ensure that Sheard didn't get home on the pass rush, so he grabbed the defensive lineman around the leg (Frame 2). That's when the center came over to help, and the combination of the two blocking Sheard sent him to the ground (Frame 3).

However, linebacker Jamie Collins was still running free and forced the incompletion. The holding penalty was declined, as the Patriots had forced the Jaguars into a fourth-down situation.

Sheard has created more pressure on opposing quarterbacks than any other pass-rusher on the Patriots roster. According to PFF, Sheard has tallied 14 total pressures (11 hurries, one hit, two sacks) compared to Jones' 12 (seven hurries, two hits, three sacks) and Ninkovich's five (one hurry, three hits, one sack). That's despite Sheard getting fewer pass-rushing opportunities than Jones and Ninkovich.

It would be good enough if Sheard were just a fresh set of legs, but with three versatile edge-defenders in Jones, Ninkovich and Sheard, the Patriots have options when deciding how to deploy them:

"I think they're all a little bit the same—the position they play at the end of the line—but then they're all a little bit different because they can do other things besides that," Belichick said at a press conference before the season.

"That gives them added value. It also gives our defense a little bit more versatility, so whether that is moving to inside positions or whether it's moving to off-the-line or outside positions ... it's great to be good at one thing. It's also great to have flexibility and versatility from those players who can help us in other areas."

It only took one defensive end to change the outlook of the Patriots depth chart at outside linebacker, but Sheard has done it. Soon enough, though, he won't be the only talented player coming off the bench for the Patriots pass rush.

Rookie Trey Flowers has been dealing with a nagging knee injury, but he has recently been listed as a full participant in practice. The Patriots also made a trade with the New Orleans Saints for defensive end Akiem Hicks.

By the time the Patriots suit up for their Week 5 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys, their defensive end rotation could be two deeper than it was headed into their bye week. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand.